On Mon, 18 Oct 2010 19:20:23 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry "Nelly"
wrote:


"Peter W. Rowe" wrote in message
. ..
On Sun, 17 Oct 2010 19:07:40 -0700, in rec.crafts.jewelry "Nelly"
wrote:


Geez, I wish my new dishwasher worked that well. Just bought a portable
GE dishwasher from Home Depot. It's a piece of junk. ...

Having once had to put up with a totally lame (new) dishwasher, I'm amazed
any manufacturer would still produce something that's gotten so many
complaints.

Agreed. You'd think that if GE can build good jet engines (they do), they'd be
able to figure out a dishwasher. Maybe this is a faulty unit and the repair guy
just wasn't in a position to do more than look and decide whether to have it
replaced or not... Interestingly, today I got an email from Home Depot
corporate office responding to a somewhat bitchy response I sent them along with
a "review" of the dishwasher (they rejected the review, though. Seems I wasn't
supposed to mention Sears name (sears doesn't charge that restocking fee...) But
the email sounds like at least someone there is going to try and make me happy.
And even the response is a pleasant surprise. We'll see how it turns out.


Sounds like the thinness of the metal in prongs puts them at particular
risk. So now I have to ask about long term effects of chlorine in tapwater.
My mother's water, for instance, makes her kitchen smell like a swimming
pool after the faucet's been turned on. (And I wouldn't wear gold in a pool,
either.)

The thinness of the metal in prongs is a bit consideration even if there are no
issues with chlorine or stress corrosion. People wear a ring for years, and it
looks the same, day to day, so they don't realize just how much metal has been
worn off. When the metal gets too thin, it no longer has the strength to resist
being peeled back if for some reason, something catches or knocks the edge of
the stone, so then stones can loosen or be lost. That, of course, can be
serviced, especially with diamonds. Any decent jeweler, if the prongs are too
worn, can build them up or replace them if needed.

As to your mom's tap water, if ti smells like a chlorinated pool, I'd suggest
getting a home water filter of some sort. That sounds nasty. Chlorine in the
water is important to keep it from harboring various nasty things, but by the
time you drink it, it would be best to not have so much there. Chlorine, after
all, is hardly an essential nutrient... (grin) As to the ring, yes, over time,
that can be a problem if it's that strong. The classic situation where chlorine
causes problems with jewelry is with people who use swimming pools or spas
regularly, so the jewelry gets repeated and sometimes extended exposure. The
damage takes time to occur, but you don't see it happening until the metal
cracks and fails. If her tap water is a strong as a swimming pool (I sure hope
it isn't, though), then it would be just as capable of causing damage. But I'm
guessing that though you may smell chlorine in an enclosed kitchen, you probably
don't have as much as a swimming pool. Still, household tap water really
shouldn't have that sort of smell in most cases. Might be worth a phone call to
the water/utility company ti find out if this is normal. Strong smells in the
water can be caused by other things too, which a plumber might be able to fix.

Would a new white gold ring, with rhodium layer intact be harmed? (The
question's purely academic since I don't own any white gold, plated or
otherwise.)

Yes. Rhodium helps, but does not totally seal a surface from all attack. If it
is really heavy, then maybe it would, but given the cost of rhodium metal and
plating solution, few manufacturers use more than needed.


You're right of course. And I'm no jeweler but I do take the ring in about
every 3 months to have prongs checked & retightened. And sooner if anything
starts getting the least bit "catchy."

You're to be commended. That's far more attentiveness to the welfare of the
jewelry than most people show. Many let it go for years without a thought. Kind
of like not visiting a dentist until you've got a toothache... Regular
checkups will allow a sense of security since the ring gets a professional
examination. Given that the store would like to be able to sell you a needed
service, they seldom miss obvious needs for repair (It helps a lot if the
person who's doing the checking is actually a competent goldsmith rather than
just one of the sales people, by the way. Sales people range from well educated
and qualified to work with jewelry, to those who look nice, talk friendly, can
sell you your own mother if they want, but don't actually know anything about
jewelry...



I did mean to enquote "ultrasonic," sorry. Yes it is the cheap vibrating
kind. It's probably the first time I used the thing in 15 years, since for
everything else I've found that a little dental brush pick works nicely. I
left the ring in there for more than an hour using softened, very warm water
(120°F or so) with the prescribed cleaning powder. I suppose if I had been
willing to to pay retail price for the ring (the only ring I wear anymore) I
couldt justify getting a better unit to clean it with.

One of the things about those little vibrating units is that they are sold with
no knowledge on the part of the manufacturer or seller as to what you're going
to put in there. Some jewelry is much more fragile chemically (like pearls, for
example), so the cleaning powders they supply are very gentle detergents,
nothing more. That means they won't harm most types of jewelry, but it also
means they won't harm more stubborn dirt and grime. With gold or platinum, and
diamonds and some other durable stones, you can use considerably more aggressive
means to clean the jewelry.

As I described before, the same sort of liquid kitchen detergents you might use
to clean the wax off that kitchens tile floor, such as Mr. Clean, Top Job, Ajax
liquid, or others, mixed to a pretty strong solution and with, if it's not
already there, a bit of ammonia added... That sort of cleaning solution will do
a lot more than those simple powders they supply with the cleaners. Next, is
temperature. Again, not all jewelry can withstand this treatment, but most of
it can. Don't just gently warm it. Boil it. Put a saucepan of that cleaning
solution on the stove and simmer to just below boiling (you don't want it
boiling over, after all). Unfold a paper clip to a hook so you can hang the
ring on that hook over the side of the saucepan. Let is simmer for a while (15
minutes or so should do the trick). That level of heating will cause most of
the stuff that gets gunked into a ring, to melt (it's grease, wax, dried lotion,
etc), which lets the solution get it off much better. Then rinse and/or brush
off with an old toothbrush or the like.

Prior to the invention of ultrasonic cleaners, goldsmiths were faced with the
same problem they now have after buffing and polishing the jewelry. It's packed
full of the polishing compounds, which are also wax or grease based (the
binders, at least, for the polishing agent). So an aggtessive cleaning method
is needed as part of normal jewelry making and repair. Before ultrasonics, most
jewelers would use what was called a "boil out pot". That amounts to the same
setup I just described, though often, the cleaning agent used would be even
stronger (like straight lye, sometimes... Nasty stuff) Jewelers got along with
that set up for a long time without ultrasonics, and we still use such a method
when cleaning things that cannot withstand the high energy of an ultrasonic.

The main thing, though, is that this is for gold and platinum and harder gems.
Don't do this to pearls, amber, turqoise, lapis, malachite, coral, glass
foilbacks, costume jewelry, anything with stones that are glued in, etc. And be
careful with cleaning silver. Some of the stronger cleaning agents can tarnish
it. Above all, don't ever add bleach to the cleaning solution. Ammonia yes,
bleach no.

Cheers

Peter